Shatter Me Ever After
by xominnow
Summary: What happens after the first battle and Juliette take out Anderson. Well lets just say they aren't sitting next to the fireplace with tea and books just yet. This is war and Juliette and Warner are ready to save the world. Rated M for language mostly but we will see.


**Hey guys! I'm so excited to be starting this story seeing as there really aren't many fics based off of Shatter Me. I'm really hoping you all enjoy what I think happened after that first battle. If you looked at this before I updated it you may have noticed that I forgot to put a disclaimer on it but here it is.**

**DISCAIMER: Tahereh Mafi owns everything and I am just a lowly peasant who is in love with HER characters. **

**We're clear now? Good, good. I really enjoy feedback so leave comments or message me anytime. **** Here goes nothing **

**-Le Minnow**

I blink nonstop for about thirty seconds as I wake from the most peaceful night of sleep I think I've ever had in my life. I look down and realize that all the covers on the bed magically shifted and wrapped themselves around me to form a cocoon and I can't help but smile to myself as I think of all of the changes I've gone through in the past couple of months and mentally scold the makeshift cocoon for being a little late. And then… I roll over. My chest is on fire and its spreads rapidly throughout the rest of my body as I look into the immense green eyes of the man that I never thought I could love. He is already dressed in his suit and ready for the day as he stares at me like; studying my face my body like he has never seen me before and the fire that started out in my chest has moved from warming my body to turning my entire face a vibrant pink.

"Good morning," I guess though I never bothered to look at the clock. It doesn't matter anyway. Time is no longer an issue that we have to race against. Time is our new best friend. It's no longer the stranger who is hiding in the shadows but willing to lend us a helping hand as we plan to rebuild what was almost lost forever.

"Look at who finally decided to join the living," he smirks at me and I grimace ready to roll back over. Sleep is so much less arrogant than he is.

I hear his round laugh fill the room though, and can't find it in myself to be mad or even annoyed. I just smile up at him and he throws his smile my way. I reach up a hand to his face and catch it in my hand and he leans down and shares it with my lips. My breath has flown away just like the birds that used to fly, just like the birds who will fly once again. Just as soon as we fix the world. I pull away.

"Do you have any idea how beautiful you look in the morning?" he asks and now it's my turn to laugh.

"You are such a brown-noser," I tease and sit up a little in the bed. I look over at the clock for the first time. Nine-thirty. Maybe I did over do the sleep just a little.

"Why didn't you come in to wake me up sooner? I thought we had a lot to do today," and now I'm frowning at him.

"I had a lot to do this morning, love. Your job this morning was to sleep and no matter what anyone else said or did your body was not going to move before it wanted to," he chuckled to himself and read the question in my eyes. "I did try to wake you up this morning with some… fun tactics, but you were having none of it. Slept right through all of my attempts to make love to you this morning so I decided that you deserved a little sleep. After all, we did just take down one of the most important people in a global take over."

"Oh," I sigh a little disappointed that I missed a chance for a little time with him this morning.

We still have a lot of work to do even though Anderson is gone and I know this. There are still six other Supreme Commanders who need to be taken care of, I'm just hoping that maybe we can settle things more diplomatically with at least some of them. As I think back to all of the events that happened yesterday, I know that there is a slim chance of this, but the quicker this war is over, the better things will be for everyone.

"Did anyone else get some well-deserved rest this morning or was it just me stealing all the fun?" I ask curious about all of my friends from Omega Point. I would say and the soldiers of Sector 45 who helped us as well but I know for a fact that they got up at six o clock this morning and were well into their duties for the day. Reconstruction of the base is my first guess at their duties. The second guess is damage control within the complexes. I can only imagine how the citizens are reacting at this point.

"Some of them yes," he says and he busies himself running his fingers through my knotted hair. I really need to get it cut. I wonder if he would like it short. "Castle and Kenji were both up early to help with counseling for the other former Omega Point members who did get to sleep in a little bit. And James is still sleeping like a rock the last I knew, the poor kid could probably sleep for a week," he suddenly looks very thoughtful.

"Aaron," I whisper and stoke the side of his face. He leans into my hand and I try to send him all of the comfort in the world in what must be the most insignificant little touch. His two brothers Adam and James. Adam who had hated him and probably still holds more than a few grudges against him. The biggest one stealing me. And James, just a little boy with a lot of questions who has seen and experienced way too much. I couldn't imagine the culture shock.

"I should probably roll out of bed and take a bath I guess," I yawn. I roll off the bed and land rather ungracefully on the ground. I see Warner's blonde head peek over the side of the bed. His face is smiling with his dimples taking away all my knowledge on how to move my limbs but his eyes scan me quickly, taking inventory of my body and making sure I have no injuries before he allows the smile to really reach his lips.

"And here I though you loved me," he teases. "I didn't even get a proper good morning from you and here you go, running off to take a bath like I'm yesterday's news," he drawls with mock hurt in his voice. For someone who claims he isn't interested in theatrics he sure is good at throwing them into every little situation.

I stand up and throw my pillow at him. "Maybe if you had tried a little harder to wake me up this morning you would have gotten your 'proper good morning'" I stick my tongue out at him and throw my pillow his way as make my way into his bathroom though of course he dodges it with no problem. I guess it is really our bathroom, but seeing as I have no clue what titles we actually have for one another, everything is his until he says the word 'ours' first.

I leave the door open a crack half hoping he will come in and join me but much to my dismay he throws the pillow through the open bathroom door and I hear the elevator door open and close as he makes his way out of the room.

I draw steaming bath water and add some of the luxurious bath soaps and salts he has lying next to the tub into it. Since he didn't say that I had anywhere pressing to be any time soon I may as well take my time to get ready.

I sink down into the warm water after discarding what very little I had left on after last night and allow the hot water to untangle all of the knots that have been tied in muscles. I know that I am too comfortable and that there is a lot of work left to be done but for right now I want to take my time in the bath and then have a good time picking out my clothes and getting dressed. Maybe I will actually even get the brush my hair before someone comes calling my name.

As I get up out of the tub, my skin pruned of sitting in the water, I realize that I will not be able to pick out my clothes today. Aaron has already laid an outfit out for me with a little note. I smile and shake my head, he is more into fashion than I ever was. Then again fashion wasn't a luxury my parents afforded to their monster child. I put the note aside and get dressed. I may have woken up late but I can tell that it is still going to be one long ass day.

SHATTERMESHATTERMESHATTERMESHATTERME

I walk out in my shimmering red dress which is loose enough to be considered modest but tight enough to show off just enough of my figure. I smile inwardly thinking about how if some tragedy occurred and another supreme commander showed up at our doorstep this morning I would have to fight looking like a princess. Hell, maybe the shock would work to my advantage.

Aaron is back in the room toying with the buttons at the end of his sleeve absentmindedly. He looks up as soon as I cross over the thresh hold from the bathroom into the bedroom like he sensed it – then again he probably did.

"Are you ready now princess?" he asks me. His eyes are full of laughter and I feel my own eyes narrow.

"What are you playing at?" I ask skeptically.

"Nothing," he shrugs his shoulders and pretends that he doesn't know what I'm talking about, "I do know that the girls want to see you and make sure that you are fully recovered from yesterday's ambush. They were worrying that you may have worn yourself out however, I think that more of your drowsiness this morning was caused by my antic last night." He winks as me as he walks towards me. A rogue giggle bursts from my lips and his smirk turns into a smile even though his eyes are still laughing.

"And will you be accompanying me to this appointment or is everything more important than my happiness today?" I joke and his face falls immediately. Fuck.

"Nothing is more important than you on any day. Of that you can be sure, love. As for your appointment I will be accompanying you as it should be rather brief. And then we get to go and face the rest of the world," he finishes with his voice much lighter than the growl it started out as.

"Well that's a relief," I sigh in relief overdramatically for his benefit, "I thought that I was going to have to spend a whole day resting and miss out on all of the important stuff."

"That, princess, would never happen. No one is as terrifying as you and we need to strike that fear into the heart of the most ferocious leaders this world has ever seen." He smiles proudly and I feel my face fill with the warmth of an embarrassingly strong blush.

"Well," I say loudly hoping that it will make me sound more confident than I feel, "what are we waiting for?" I throw him a flirtatious smirk and side step him as he tries to grab me. He growls but follows me into the closet and subsequently into the elevator. As the doors close I can't help but ask myself what the hell I've gotten myself into.

SHATTERMESHATTERMESHATTERMESHATTERME

The elevation makes a ping and I'm pushing Aaron through the open doors eager to try and make up for the time I spent sleeping in. I ignore his irritated glare and head over to where I see the girls standing on the opposite side of the training room with Kenji. Even though he sends a patented grin in my way, Kenji starts walking away before I reach the girls and I wonder if there is a reason why he is avoiding me this morning. I brush the thought off quickly enough when I see the girls smiling broadly at me with their arms opened up for a hug.

I jog a little to get to their welcoming arms feeling relief wash over me all over again that we got them both back and that they are now safe from the egomaniac that was Adam, Aaron, and James' father.

"Look at you all bright eyed and bushy tailed after a nice sleep in," Sarah joked while giving me a once over. Sonya had tears in her eyes feeling the same way I at the moment; overwhelmingly relieved at the illusion of all of our safety.

"Well now, we don't have all day contrary to popular belief ladies. Let's get to proving that Juliette is right as rain so that we can all put ourselves in grave danger once again," Aaron says jokingly but it makes us all a little uneasy because of the underlying truth. We opened up a huge can of worms yesterday and all but sealed our fate. We may all die before we turn twenty-five. I physically shake myself and Aaron looks at me with concern.

"I'm fine just a little chill that's all," I send what I hope is a wave of reassurance in his direction and flash him a smile.

"Okay let's get you looked at," Sonya says only hesitating slightly before she grabs my arm. I blush as she pulls me a little harder with a little more confidence than before. She has only heard from word of mouth that I am able to touch people without killing them yet. I'm still kind of nervous that everyone is going to run away screaming or that maybe I'll suddenly lose control again and hurt someone that I love accidently. But I'm more afraid of voicing my fears because I'm selfish and I don't want my friends to start shying away again. I know I've mastered my skill in my brain, now if I could get my irrational phobia list to allow me to cross accidently touching someone and sucking the life out of them off of it, I could get somewhere.

Sarah sits me on one of the benches that is supposed to be used to bench press weights and they start analyzing me. I wait patiently while they do what they need to and watch Warner pace back and forth with a nervous look on his face.

"I think it's safe to say I'm not dying dear," I call over. This gets his attention but doesn't wipe the worry off of his perfectly symmetrical face.

The girls are all smiles as the pull away and I don't know whether to be nervous or to be happy.

"Well other than some exhaustion it looks like you are perfectly ready to go about you day trying to save the world and all," Sonya gushes and I let out a sigh I didn't know I was holding.

I turn to Warner who is now playing catch with James and smile at what was once considered normality. It looks so domestic I can feel my heart aching. I feel like maybe if I don't say anything, or breathe too hard, or move an inch everything will just stay like this. But my brain pulls me violently back down to the reality which is the fact that there may be armies trying to storm our sector any moment now. I roll my shoulders and my neck to try and release some of the fast growing tension and walk my way towards the boys.

Kenji catches my arm and I stop walking but he hasn't noticed and is now pulling me along passed the people who I was originally headed for. He continues to guide me through the jungle of workout machines until we come to rest in a spot that is for the most part secluded and he gives me a look. _He is so damn dramatic _I think to myself and unfortunately a smile reaches my lips before I can stop it. I see the aggravation run through Kenji's eyes and I know that he is every bit as worried as I am only he isn't doing nearly as well at hiding it this morning.

"Listen princess I know that I'm sexy and I know you're in love with that assclown over there but we have work to do and we need to be focused. Now I know what the girls said and I trust their judgment but I am going to ask you anyway, are you okay? Really okay? Like top notch I'm taking over the world okay?" he is staring at me with them most serious face on and I just can't help but to laugh at the joke he tried too hard to put into his words.

I absentmindedly start lifting on a machine behind me without checking to see how much weight is on it. It doesn't matter anyway. I can lift more than any boy or man on earth. Suddenly I'm cold and I try to suppress the shiver that's fighting its way down my spine and throughout my body. _Am I okay? After everything that happened yesterday, am I in shock? Would I know if I was in shock? _

"I'm fine," I finally grumble at him and he looks as unconvinced as I feel.

"Big bad Juliette who started a war. My best friend who couldn't even talk to people. Has Warner told you what's going on yet?" He takes one look at my face, groans, and slides one of his large hands down his face.

"Well after our little, let's call it a display, shall we? Anyway after yesterday the phones been ringing off the hook. Some sectors would like to be all diplomatic nice nice because they think that we are going to whoop their ass and they are trying to run away with their tails between their legs. Other sectors, most of them actually, are willing to take that risk. We don't know how close they are to being ready to fight us, not that that matters at all because we are in no shape to go back out there anyway," He looks at my face and I feel a weight drop in my stomach. Everything that I feared just came out of his mouth.

"Why are you briefing me and not Warner? I thought that after we saw the girls we were going to deal with all of this," I say and I know I'm wiggling, shifting, nearly falling out of my seat and I try and hide my discomfort in my words anyway.

"Because I don't want lover boy to sugar coat anything and accidently give you the wrong impression. Don't get me wrong it would be a nice sentiment if it weren't so important to let your dumb ass know what we are up against before you try and paint a picture of people shooting rainbows at one another and calling it war," I frown at him and he starts to smile. "I love you princess but you have a kind of warped mind at times," and he laughs and so do I. This is why Kenji is my best friend.

"I am not that bad," I swat at his chest still laughing and soon our laughter turns into sad smiles. "I don't want this to end Kenji. I mean look around. People are getting along for the first time ever I mean look at James' face. This is the happiest I've ever seen him which considering we are in the middle of a war zone is saying something. I just want this to be over." I pout a little and Kenji puts his arm around my shoulder effectively stopping me from nervously lifting the weights.

"I know J, I wish I could stay like this too but we still have a long road ahead of us. It's probably time that you get back to whatever you guys are supposed to be doing now anyway. I just wanted to warn you that this is war," he smiles at me and I'm all confused.

"Besides once this is all over you can play house all you want," and he's running and I am too I go to tackle him but strong arms catch me around my waist and I know that means that it's show time.


End file.
